Globalization and Labour in the Twenty-First Century

Globalisation has adversely affected working-class organisation and mobilisation; but international labour movement demobilisation is not necessarily an irreversible trend. Globalisation has prompted workers and their organisations to find new ways to mobilise. This book examines international labour movement opposition to globalisation. It chronicles and critically scrutinizes the emergence of distinctively new forms of labour movement organisation and mobilisation that constitute creative initiatives on the part of labour, which present capitalism with fresh challenges. The author identifies eight characteristics of globalisation that have proven problematic to workers and their organisations and describes and analyses how they have responded to these challenges since 1990 and especially in the past decade. In particular, it focuses attention on new types of labour movement organisation and mobilisation that are not simply defensive reactions but are offensive and innovative responses that compel corporations to behave more responsively and responsibly towards employees and society at large. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of globalisation, political economy, labour politics, economics, Marxism and sociology of work

Colombian business and logistics environment by the year 2020

This thesis aimed to provide information on Colombia’s business and trading environment for companies interested in the market. The main focus of the analysis was on logistics performance. To put Colombia’s business and logistics environment in perspective, its performance was compared with that of its Latin American peers. An important concept for the context of this thesis is trade and transport facilitation (TTF), which means improving efficiency and reducing costs of moving goods across borders. This notion as well as indicators for assessing countries’ TTF performance are introduced in the theoretical framework. Also, studies on determinants of logistics performance are reviewed. Two types of factors were identified to affect countries’ logistics performance: infrastructure and institutional quality. These two types of indicators were used in the analysis of this thesis. The research approach selected for this study is descriptive and qualitative, as the objective was to create a comprehensive description of the Colombian business environment. The analysis consists of an outlook on Colombia’s economy and transport sector as well as on TTF performance in international evaluations. The research data included reports, statistics, and international rankings. The research framework is unique because it combines a transport sector analysis with a greater number of TTF indicators than seen in previous studies. The analysis covering data till the year 2020 showed that despite being ranked as one of the best business environments in Latin America, Colombia’s competitiveness is hindered by poor road and railway infrastructure, border management issues, corruption and insecurity. In turn, connectedness by air and sea as well as seaport infrastructure are very good. The US market is easily reached by air. Colombia enjoys the advantage of having access to both the Atlantic and the Pacific. It also has an extensive system of navigable rivers. However, port infrastructure in the Pacific is underdeveloped and rivers are currently not used at their full potential. Significant infrastructure projects have been planned for the 2020s, including increasing the cargo capacity of the rivers and developing inactive railways to create efficient intermodal transport corridors.Työn tarkoitus oli antaa Kolumbian markkinoista kiinnostuneille yrityksille tietoa maan liiketoimintaympäristöstä erityisesti logistiikan näkökulmasta. Jotta Kolumbiaa voitaisiin tarkastella kontekstissaan, maata verrattiin latinalaisamerikkalaisiin verrokkimaihin. Aiheen kannalta merkittävä käsite on trade and transport facilitation (TTF) eli kansainvälisen kaupan ja kuljetusten edistäminen, millä tarkoitetaan rajat ylittävien kuljetusten tehokkuuden parantamista ja kustannusten pienentämistä. Tämä käsite sekä valtioiden edistymistä alalla arvioivat mittarit ovat pääosassa työn teoreettisessa viitekehyksessä. Lisäksi tarkastellaan aiempia tutkimuksia logistiikan suorituskyvystä. Tutkimuskirjallisuudesta voitiin tunnistaa kaksi tekijää, jotka vaikuttavat maiden logistiikan suorituskykyyn: kuljetusinfrastruktuuri ja instituutiot. Näiden tekijöiden laatua mittaavia indikaattoreita käytettiin tässä tutkimuksessa liiketoiminta- ja logistiikkaympäristön analysoimiseen. Tutkimusote on deskriptiivinen ja kvalitatiivinen, sillä tavoite oli laatia yksityiskohtainen kuvaus Kolumbian liiketoimintaympäristöstä logistiikan näkökulmasta. Tutkimuksen viitekehys on ainutlaatuinen, sillä Kolumbian ja verrokkimaiden arvioinnissa käytettiin useampia TTF-mittareita kuin aiemmissa tutkimuksissa. Lisäksi analyysia täydennettiin tarkemmalla katsauksella Kolumbian kuljetussektoriin. Tutkimusaineistona käytettiin lähinnä kansainvälisten järjestöjen ja Kolumbian ministeriöiden laatimia tilastoja, arviointityökaluja ja raportteja. Valtaosa tutkimusaineistosta ulottuu vuoteen 2020. Vaikka Kolumbian liiketoimintaympäristö on Latinalaisen Amerikan parhaita, maan heikkouksia ovat maantie- ja rautatieinfrastruktuuri, tullimuodollisuudet, korruptio ja rikollisuus. Lento- ja meriliikenneyhteydet sekä satamainfrastruktuuri sitä vastoin ovat ensiluokkaisia. Yhdysvaltain markkinat ovat nopeiden lentoyhteyksien päässä. Kolumbialla on etunaan myös sekä Atlantille että Tyynellemerelle ulottuva rannikko ja laaja jokiverkosto. Tyynenmeren puoleinen infrastruktuuri on kuitenkin puutteellinen eikä jokien tarjoamia mahdollisuuksia ole täysin hyödynnetty. Mittavia projekteja on kuitenkin suunniteltu toteutettavaksi 2020-luvulla, kuten jokien kuljetuskapasiteetin lisääminen sekä käytöstä poistettujen rautatieosuuksien käyttöönotto intermodaalikuljetusten tehostamiseksi

Doing good or going better: development policies in a globalising world

The world is changing, and so is the unquestioning belief that development policies are always right. Instead of focusing on the rather limited notion of poverty, this book aims to deepen our understanding of the broad issue of development. What are the drivers of development? What new issues have arisen due to globalization? And what kind of policies contribute to development in a world that is changing rapidly? The articles in this book provide insight into the muddled trajectories of development on various continents and rethink the notion of development in a globalizing, interdependent world. Taken together, the still fuzzy contours of a paradigm shift emerge from the 'Washington Confusion'. Development can no longer be the ambitious, moral project based on a standard model of economic European or American modernization. 'Doing better' means being less moralistic, more modest and pragmatic, and taking seriously the path dependencies and social realities that exist in each country

Safety and Reliability - Safe Societies in a Changing World

The contributions cover a wide range of methodologies and application areas for safety and reliability that contribute to safe societies in a changing world. These methodologies and applications include: - foundations of risk and reliability assessment and management - mathematical methods in reliability and safety - risk assessment - risk management - system reliability - uncertainty analysis - digitalization and big data - prognostics and system health management - occupational safety - accident and incident modeling - maintenance modeling and applications - simulation for safety and reliability analysis - dynamic risk and barrier management - organizational factors and safety culture - human factors and human reliability - resilience engineering - structural reliability - natural hazards - security - economic analysis in risk managemen

Africa Capacity Report 2014: Capacity Imperatives for Regional Integration in Africa

The Africa Capacity Report (ACR) and its supporting indicators offer inputs for decisions on what to finance to develop capacity. Most countries are doing well on their policy environments and having processes in place to implement policies. Countries are doing less well on achieving development results and least on capacity development outcomes. The Report and its indicators also point to the regulatory and institutional reforms needed to better support public–private partnerships in capacity investment and building—and to the investments needed to further strengthen public administration. And they spotlight the importance of political will to enhance social inclusion and development. Each Report showcases an annual theme of key importance to Africa's development agenda. This year the focus is on the capacity imperatives for regional integration, a core mandate of the ACBF, and on the capacities of the regional economic communities (RECs). The Report outlines what is needed to strengthen the RECs. Integrate capacity building in wider efforts to achieve sustainable development. Assure adequate administrative and financial resources. Emphasize the retention and use of skills, not just their acquisition. And monitor and evaluate all efforts to develop capacity. The capacity dimensions and imperatives for regional integration are crucial today as countries, RECs, specialized regional institutions, and regional development organizations, are developing strategic regional frameworks and building capacity to pursue regional integration across the continent. The ACBF's many regionally oriented interventions help move the regional integration agenda forward by strengthening the RECs as platforms for harmonizing policy and enhancing trade among member countries

Shaping an Inclusive Energy Transition

This open access book makes a case for a socially inclusive energy transition and illustrates how engineering and public policy professionals can contribute to shaping an inclusive energy transition, building on a socio-technical systems engineering approach. Accomplishing a net-zero greenhouse gas emissions economy in 2050 is a daunting challenge. This book explores the challenges of the energy transition from the perspectives of technological innovation, public policy, social values and ethics. It elaborates on two particular gaps in the design of public policy interventions focused on decarbonization of the energy system and discusses how both could be remedied. First, the siloed organization of public administration fails to account for the many interdependencies between the energy sector, the mobility system, digital infrastructure and the built environment. Cross-sector coordination of policies and policy instruments is needed to avoid potentially adverse effects upon society and the economy, which may hamper the energy transition rather than accelerate it. Second, energy and climate policies pay insufficient attention to the social values at stake in the energy transition. In addressing these gaps, this book intends to inspire decision makers engaged in the energy transition to embrace the transition as an opportunity to bring a more inclusive society into being

Essays in Indian trade policy

My thesis explores the political economy of trade protection in India. The first essay outlines the political economy of trade protection in India. My second essay asks: Has Protection really been for Sale in India? To answer this question, I use a unique dataset to explain the political economy of trade protection since liberalisation. The traditional Grossman and Helpman (1992) (GH henceforth) model of Protection for Sale (PFS henceforth) is used with a new measure of political organization. I undertake cross-sectional analysis for several years from 1990-2007 and use the pooled dataset. The third essay outlines the modified PFS framework that introduces a new measure of lobbying effectiveness to analyse how heterogeneity in lobbying affects trade protection. The underlying framework is based on the idea that government preferences or the market structure of the industry can influence lobbying effectiveness. The empirical evidence provides estimates on effectiveness and examines its determinants. The fourth essay explores: Is Protection still for Sale with Lobbying Effectiveness? I undertake an estimation of the modified PFS model against the conventional results presented in my second essay. I examine if differences in lobbying effectiveness can explain the variation in tariff protection levels across Indian manufacturing sectors and construct a direct measure of lobbying effectiveness for Indian manufacturing. Finally, I include additional political factors of importance to Indian trade policy. The fifth essay asks: Join Hands or Walk Alone? I examine the factors that affect the choice of lobbying strategy of Indian manufacturing firms for trade policy and consider the exclusive use of a single strategy, to lobby collectively (Join hands) and lobby individually (Walk Alone), along with the possibility of a dual strategy i.e. a combination of collective and individual lobbying using information from a primary survey across 146 firms. The results are new for India and reveal the overall preference of a dual lobbying strategy

Doing Good or Doing Better

The world is changing, and so is the unquestioning belief that development policies are always right. Instead of focusing on the rather limited notion of poverty, this book aims to deepen our understanding of the broad issue of development. What are the drivers of development? What new issues have arisen due to globalization? And what kind of policies contribute to development in a world that is changing rapidly? The articles in this book provide insight into the muddled trajectories of development on various continents and rethink the notion of development in a globalizing, interdependent world. Taken together, the still fuzzy contours of a paradigm shift emerge from the 'Washington Confusion'. Development can no longer be the ambitious, moral project based on a standard model of economic European or American modernization. 'Doing better' means being less moralistic, more modest and pragmatic, and taking seriously the path dependencies and social realities that exist in each country